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Berlin's Military Budget Endangers NATO - German MP

© AP Photo / Jan PitmanGerman soldiers enter a Transall C-160 cargo plane at the military airbase Penzing, 50 kilometers (28 miles) west of Munich, southern Germany. File photo
German soldiers enter a Transall C-160 cargo plane at the military airbase Penzing, 50 kilometers (28 miles) west of Munich, southern Germany. File photo - Sputnik International
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Earlier in April, US President Donald Trump rebuked Germany for “not paying their fair share” to NATO as Berlin now plans to spend 1.25 per cent of its gross domestic product on the alliance’s needs by 2024, which is lower than the two per cent guideline.

Germany cutting its military budget may pose a threat to NATO, German Free Democratic Party member Bijan Djir-Sarai was quoted by the Bild magazine as saying.

“Germany has become a security risk for the entire alliance. Those who act unreliably and contrary to [bilateral] agreements endanger NATO’s capabilities. It was high time for Germany to give up this embarrassing behaviour and invest more in its own security”, Djir-Sarai underlined.

READ MORE: Germany Saying 'Enough of This' by Refusing to Meet NATO Spending Demands — Prof

His remarks came after US President Donald Trump stressed that even though he had “a great feeling for Germany”, the country is “not paying what they should be paying”.

“We're paying for a big proportion of NATO, which is basically protecting Europe. They’re paying close to 1 per cent”, Trump said, in a nod to Germany’s plans to spend about 1.25 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on the alliance in the next five years.

Berlin’s failure to meet the alliance’s agreement to spend two per cent of its GDP on defence has emerged as a source of tension between Germany and the US.

READ MORE: 'Trump Wants 1 in 5 Dollars That Germany Collects Spent on Defence' – Analyst

Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to boost the country’s military spending up to 1.5 per cent of its GDP by 2023.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May, front row from left, watch a fly-by during a summit of heads of state and government at NATO headquarters in Brussels Wednesday, July 11, 2018. NATO leaders gather in Brussels for a two-day summit to discuss Russia, Iraq and their mission in Afghanistan. - Sputnik International
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German Media Wary of NATO's 'Existential Crisis', Blames Trump
However, the budget plan presented by German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz in mid-March stipulates that the expenditures will decrease after a rise next year.

Washington, which according to NATO's statistics, spends 3.6 per cent of its GDP on the alliance, insists that its partners should reach the agreed guidelines by 2024 at the latest. US President Donald Trump has long bemoaned the situation within the alliance, with only five of the 28 members following the two per cent guideline

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